ReplayTV, Inc. and TiVo, Inc. have developed television recorders incorporating media switches. In time, it is expected that these recorders will replace traditional VCR technology. Instead of recording a television input stream directly to a magnetic tape, these television recorders record and convert the television input streams, manipulate the input stream into digital data, convert the digital data stream into a television output stream, and selectively play back the output stream to a television. A hard disk drive is used to record both the input stream and to play back the output stream.
Many advantages that are realized through the use of hard drive media in combination with a television recorder having a media switch. ReplayTV, Inc. outlines some of the advantages on their web site www.replaytv.com:                Watch your favorite TV programming—on your schedule. ReplayTV will forever change the way you watch television. It sets you free from those TV schedules that are never where you left them. It pauses live TV. It records without videotape. It lets you skip over the boring parts. It searches and records shows with the touch of a button. It gives you control over live television. With ReplayTV, you can digitally record up to 30 hours of the shows you want to see and then watch them whenever you want. What doesn't ReplayTV give you? A monthly bill.        Pause Live TV (and perform other cool tricks). Watching your favorite tennis stars in a doubles match? Pause live programming to answer the phone or grab a snack—then resume watching without missing a single forehand crush or masterful lob. Bored with a rain delay? Skip ahead to get to the action. Want a closer look at a crucial line call? Use multispeed forward and reverse to get there, then catch every detail in Slo-Mo and frame advance. (And feel free to disagree with the referee!)        Go wherever you want at warp speed. Want to skip a scene that's too long or just plain boring? Use QuickSkip™ to jump forward to the good stuff. Plus you can digitally fast forward and rewind at 2 to 20 times normal speed. Now that's power. Are you starting to feel omnipotent yet? Read on.        Not sure what you're in the mood for? No problem. ReplayZones let you browse through more than 100 show categories—it's the easiest way to find the best of any television genre. Whether it's Sitcoms, Cartoons, Four Star Movies or Biographies, ReplayTV puts them all at your fingertips.        Know what you want? Find it fast. If you can spell “ER,” ReplayTV can find it—instantly. With the Find Shows feature, you type in a show title or for that matter any keyword and, POW! up comes a list of every single show that matches your search. Find Shows even gives you a description of each show it's found so you can decide which ones to record. Tap the Record button and ReplayTV will do the rest.        The first day you own ReplayTV is the last day you watch boring television. Check out the on-screen Channel Guide, a complete listing of everything that's on for the coming week. When you find a show you like, simply press the Record button—it's that easy. Press it twice and ReplayTV will record that show every time it's on.        Live Instant Replay, Slow Motion, and Frame-by-Frame Advance. Okay, so the good guys somehow escaped the jaws of death—but it all happened so quickly, you missed a part. Tap the Instant Replay button and watch the last crucial 7 seconds again. And again. And again. Still puzzled about our heroes' escape? Dissect the scene using the digital Slow Motion or Frame-by-Frame Advance. So that's how they saved the world and fell in love!        Say “so long” to the VCR Programming Blues. Recording with ReplayTV is easy—no, really. Highlight a show, press the red record button once, and the show is recorded once. Press twice, and your show is automatically recorded every week. This means you'll never miss your favorite show again! Not only that ReplayTV digitally records up to 30 hours of programming.        